Li Taibai Collection (Vol. 1 & 2)

Author: Li Bai (Tang Dynasty), annotated by Yang Jian
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1997-03-01
Features: Li Bai (701-762 AD), a great poet of the Tang Dynasty. His courtesy name was Taibai, and he styled himself as Qinglian Jushi. At the age of five, he moved with his father to Qinglian Township, Changlong (now Jiangyou, Sichuan). From a young age, he showed talent in poetry and prose,, and was influenced by Confucianism, Taoism, and the school of thought. He enjoyed heroic deeds. At the age of 25, he left Sichuan and traveled extensively. In the first year of the Tianbao era (742 AD), he was recommended by Wu Jun and others and summoned to serve as a court poet, receiving special favor from Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. However, he was slandered by powerful figures like Gao Lishi and left after less than a year. Thereafter, he wandered for a long time, with his footsteps spreading across Liang, Song, Qi, and Liuli. He traveled repeatedly between Dongyue, Jinling, and Xuancheng. During the An Lushan Rebellion, he served as a counselor to Prince Yong of Yongwang, but was later exiled to Yelang for the crime of "allegiance to the rebel." On his way to Wushan, he was pardoned and returned east. At the age of 61, when Li Guangbi was appointed to govern Linhuai in the east, Li Bai went to volunteer for service but returned midway due to illness. In his later years, he relied on his cousin Li Yangbing and died in Tangtu. He is renowned in literature for his poetry and is known as the "Poet Immortal." Over 990 poems have been passed down, compiled in the Collected Works of Li Taibai. Among the pre-modern annotated collections, Wang Qi's Annotations to the Collected Poems of Li Taibai is the most comprehensive. The Old Book of Tang (Volume 190, Part 2) and the New Book of Tang (Volume 202) both have biographies of him. Li Bai had an inseparable connection with Tangtu (including the area of present-day Ma'anshan City). During his stay in Tangtu, he might have sailed along the Gusu Creek and Danyang Lake, climbed Tianmenshan, Niuzhuji, Lingxiantai, and Lingxushan, visited Xie Gong's residence and Huan Gong's well, or resided in the Shimen of Hengshan, repeatedly exploring and composing poems. Li Bai was particularly fond of the landscape of Cai Shi, praising the scenic beauty of Tangtu extensively. After Li Bai's death, the romantic story of "leaping into the river to catch the moon" spread widely among the people.